Haute (Dog) Couture!

In general, I am against dogs in sweaters-- I mean, they're dogs!  They have fur coats already, right?  But this speshul snowflake (I named the second sweater this in homage to my hypocritical feelings on dogs in sweaters) is too cute to be shivering for the next three months.

Glamour

This is an exact pattern (Little Black Dress with Pearls) from My Savannah Cottage.  Ms. Abby's momma loves those pearls, so I figured she probably does, too!

Speshul Snowflake

This is based on Need for Tweed from Lion Brand Yarn's free pattern database.  I had to adjust the size for Abby, as the smallest size was still too big, but it came up a little short.  By the time I knit her next sweater, I won't need to adjust the size at all-- she's growing like a weed!

Big Top, Big Time!

My mom and I bought this red and white striped fabric last weekend when I was home for Jessie's baby shower, because my mom wanted me to sew some valances for Ava's circus-themed nursery.  I haven't used my machine in a few years, doing more knitting than sewing, and I realized my machine's foot was missing!  After visiting several stores, I finally gave up and went to Wal-mart; since they sell the brand of machine I own, I figured they might have spare parts.  The following scene took place, after I walked up to a sales associate:

Me: Excuse me, but do you have any sewing machine feet?

SA: No.

Me: Really?  

SA: Well, we have some over here.

... and she led me over to several sewing machine feet, which all fit my machine.

The final result:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Knits and Wits...

... at least, I hope for wit!  There ought to be a law against mid-terms extending across more than two weeks.  My first mid-term was in class, on October 30th, and my last mid-term is due next Thursday, on the 19th!  I have to say, though, this paper I just finished, on Paul Otlet and the International Institute of Bibliography, is quite awesome-- toot, toot!  

I've been knitting like a crazy person to take a break (read: procrastinate) from all these mid-terms, but I can't post pictures of any of it, because they're all gifts... except for the lovely Star Crossed Slouchy Beret (you can click through this link if you're a Ravelry member-- and if you're not, get on it!), designed by Natalie Larson (all her patterns are adorable!).  My favorite part of this pattern, aside from the slouchyness, is that star spiral on the top-- of course, I was working on this pattern on the bus, and thought I knew how it should go, and ended up with something totally different.  I still love it, though.

Thanks to the Infamous Lady for posing for this shot-- it's incredibly difficult to take good pictures of yourself in a hat.

DIY Door Headboard

So many projects!  In honor of the ShakeOut on Thursday, I will share a project done this weekend and earlier today, not just for aesthetics, but for safety reasons.

When I was younger, my mother owned a floral shop, and she had this amazing door that she would use to spray paint against.  I have used this door as my headboard for years-- but even in San Francisco, I just screwed it into the wall!  No anchors, no studs, just straight, powdery, flaky drywall.  I can't believe I lived in San Francisco for four years with this wedge of wood just hanging precariously over my head... not to mention the unaware who would bonk their head on the doorknob.  

Once again relocated to an earthquake zone (and to make it pretty, of course), I added legs and thick bolts (with washers) to stabilize the door behind the bed.  It now looks a proper headboard: whaddya think?